Mideast Firms Aim to Boost Region's TV Ad Spending

By

Rory Jones

Updated April 7, 2013 8:48 p.m. ET

Advertisers and broadcasters in the Middle East are joining together to try to crack open the regional television advertising market by changing how ad rates are calculated, a move that could spur a sharp increase in spending by global firms such as General Motors Co., Unilever PLC and Ford Motor Co.

Big ad buyers, who are keen to reach wealthy citizens in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and other countries in the region, say the Mideast market is stunted by the lack of transparency in the audience size of...